The terror train has come to a complete stop. Before you get off, let’s recap the list of the top ten horror movies list according to yours truly:

10)  House on Haunted Hill (1999)

09)  The Audition (1999) & Saw (2004)

08)  Cigarette Burns (2005)

07)  Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

06)  The Amityville Horror (2005) & The Shining (1980)

05)  Nosferatu (1922) & It (1990)

04)  A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

03)  The Midnight Meat Train (2008) & Hellraiser (1987)

…and without further ado, here are the final two entries to cap off the top two spots for my top ten horror movies list.

02)  Hellbound:  Hellraiser II (1988)

It is truly rare that a sequel lives up to the same hype as its predecessor.

Again, Clive Barker holds no punches when he unleashes hell on your television screen. Clive Barker’s vision is unparallel to anyone who has come before and possibly after him. Clive Barker is truly way ahead of his time.

“Hellbound:  Hellraiser II” opens with a recap of what happened in “Hellraiser.” Ashley Laurence reprises her role as Kirsty Cotton. Kirsty is in a psychiatric hospital and befriends a girl named Tiffany. Tiffany is a mute and she can solve puzzles easily…and you know what that means. That’s right, all hell is about to break loose.

“Hellbound:  Hellraiser II” also revolves around the character of Dr. Philip Channard. He is a collector of rare artifacts…especially puzzle boxes. He has an obsession with puzzle boxes. He knows what they are capable of and he wants the power it holds, and eventually he gets it.

“Hellbound:  Hellraiser II” is definitely the thin line that separates the viewers from pleasure and pain.  Clive Barker shares his visions of hell…which is absolutely phenomenal by way of “Hellbound:  Hellraiser II,” being made close to 20 years ago.

From one patient chained to the mattress and cutting himself with a razor blade due to imaginary maggots crawling in his skin to Julia Cotton’s missing flesh and bloody body to rooting for Pinhead and the Cenobites during the fight scene to the amazing special effects to Clive Barker’s visions of hell, it is no wonder that” Hellbound:   Hellraiser II” is near the top of my list.

Drum roll please…

…and now my number one pick for the top ten horror movies list…

Candyman (1992)

Kris Kross’, “Jump” came out the same year as Candyman and it didn’t make me “Jump, Jump” as much as Candyman.

The story of Candyman comes from the story, “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker.

Candyman opens up with an aerial view of Chicago followed by a swarm of bees surrounding the Chicago skyline. In the background is a haunting score that is often associated by many films of horror past.  Who can forget the “Halloween” theme song, “The Exorcist” theme song, the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” theme songs or the eerie sound effects of “Friday the 13^th“? You can add “Candyman’s” theme song to that list. These songs would make an excellent soundtrack for a haunted house.

Candyman is about a man who was the father of a slave in the 1890s. Candyman’s real name is Daniel Robitaille. Candyman’s father became rich after he invented a machine that produced shoes at a fast rate. Candyman was educated and was an artist. After he impregnated a Caucasian woman, the father of the woman hired an angry mob to kill him. The father made sure that his death was slow and painful. The father had the angry mob saw off his right hand with a rusty blade, took him to an apiary, smashed the hives and smothered honey all over his body and he was stung to death by the bees and burnt to death. Candyman’s ashes were then spread all over the grounds of Cabrini Green.

Helen, a student at the University of Illinois, decides to write her paper about the one they call Candyman. Helen questions the credibility of Candyman. She does some investigating with her best friend, Bernadette Walsh, at Cabrini Green after two unsolved murders occurred there. Cabrini Green is now the projects in “Candyman”.  

After a few visits to Cabrini Green, Helen is greeted by Candyman in a parking garage at her school. This confrontation between the two characters is the first of many. Some end on a bad note when those associated with Helen end up dead.

Here is what I loved most about “Candyman”:   the perfect timings of scare, Candyman’s hook going in the back of Helen’s head mixed with the sound of the ruffling sound of a bouquet of flowers (listen for it), the real bees used in the making of “Candyman”, the amazing back stories of each character, the real hypnotism used on Helen’s character and the way nudity was used. Yes…the way that nudity was used. Clive knows how to use nudity as a form of art and not just sex in his movies. 

I learned a lot from the special features of “Candyman” as well. I learned that the location of Cabrini Green is an actual public housing structure in Chicago and that during the last day of filming, shots were fired at the crew. I learned that Candyman was both a hero and villain. I learned that “Candyman” might have caused another riot because of the L.A. riots the same year. I learned that the world was not ready for a “villain” of African-American descent.

 I truly love and respect Clive Barker’s visions and sense of direction. He is definitely a true master of horror.

I’m glad I’m typing Candyman’s name rather than saying it aloud. As for you, the reader, I hope you read this to yourself. I don’t want to hear about a guy with a hook that gutted you from groin to gullet in the local newspaper because you said his name five times.

Thank you for letting me share with you what I consider my top ten horror movie list. I hope that you all hold a horror movie marathon soon. What better day for viewing than this Friday for Halloween? I highly recommend that you watch, rent and buy these movies for a really awesome scare.